Jade Sayers
Atelier Ryza 2 is a great addition to the Atelier series, bound to please long-time fans and hook in newcomers. Featuring a colourful cast of characters, an interesting mystery to unfold, and fun crafting features, it's a joy to sink hour upon hour into. While it does have its shortcomings, they are easily forgiven by how entrancing the rest of the game is.
Buried Stars is an intricately woven visual novel with a lot of cool concepts. An interesting and varied cast keep you on your toes, while a plot filled with twists and mystery makes Buried Stars a must for fans of the genre.
Fairy Tail carries on going even when the storyline is done; there's plenty to upgrade in the guild, and a multitude of characters to rank up, unlocking new content and cutscenes. That, combined with an enjoyable battle system, makes Gust's latest a solid experience for anime fans.
My Hero One's Justice is a perfectly adequate fighting game, and a good adaptation of its source material - but it's not much more than that. It provides a great opportunity to play as some much loved (and hated) characters, showcasing the variety of powers each has on offer while being a fun, engaging, and challenging anime-based title, but it's not quite the heroic effort that we were hoping for.
Little Dragons Café can be fiddly and repetitive, but it's not all together awful. A host of interesting, well-rounded characters provide an engaging story as you raise the world's cutest dragon. It might not be the most taxing game, but it provides a cathartic experience with its simplistic approach to café management.
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is an altogether fun but often repetitive dungeon crawler let down by its weak cast and uninteresting storyline. Moments spent in the labyrinth dungeons, though initially confusing, are bright spots in an otherwise uninspiring game, giving the opportunity for exploration and presenting an intriguing battle system which allows for plenty of customisation and experimentation.
The Witch and The Hundred Knight 2 is a colourful, funny, and interesting game, but it's greatly hindered by a drawn-out, convoluted battle system. Hardcore JRPG fans will get more out of this game than the casual player, but as a whole it just feels far too inaccessible for its own good.
Attack on Titan 2 is a much improved sequel and such a vast game - you can spend hours playing and it feels like there's still so much to do. Alongside some really solid gameplay, fans of the series will enjoy interacting with beloved characters, and while the storyline isn't going to offer anything new, you'll feel like a valued part of the fight against the giant menace.
With such stellar source material, it's a real shame that The Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Britannia is so disappointing. What could have been an exciting, funny, and rich game has turned out to be a dull experience, offering nothing to players but repetition with little challenge.
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ is a wonderful way to spend several hours thanks to a delightfully fun combat system. The standard JRPG storyline means everything feels very familiar, but it's not all bad. Overall, the game's nothing special -- certainly not to look at -- but there's at least plenty of content here, and the title does a decent job of keeping things fresh.